1st Annual NHERI-NIED/E-Defense
Collaborative Meeting

Renewing earthquake engineering research collaborations between the U.S. and Japan

Organizers announce the first annual NHERI-NIED/E-Defense earthquake research meeting

Engineering administrators from the U.S. and Japan are pleased to announce a key meeting between researchers from the Natural Hazard Engineering Research Infrastructure, NHERI, and Japan’s National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience, NIED.

The 1st annual NHERI-NIED/E-Defense earthquake research collaboration meeting will be held at the Kobori Research Complex Inc. in Akasaka, Tokyo, on October 31 and November 1, 2017.

Leading researchers from both countries, as well as representatives from the National Science Foundation, Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) and other government agencies, will be invited to attend and discuss in plenary and breakout sessions research plans for NHERI and NIED/E-Defense collaboration. Annual meetings will facilitate planning of the overall research program, disseminate findings, and encourage participation in collaborative research.

We urge all NHERI researchers involved in earthquake engineering to attend. Some travel support is available. See details below and complete the form on this page to register and request travel support by Noon Eastern on October 6, 2017.

Background

U.S.-Japan collaboration on earthquake engineering research began in 2004. A meeting between NSF and MEXT representatives and researchers laid the groundwork for an initial joint research program related to improving understanding of seismic effects and reducing the seismic vulnerability of bridges and steel buildings. The emphasis of the program was to conduct experimental research using the George E. Brown, Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES) equipment sites in the U.S. and NIED's three-dimensional full-scale earthquake testing facility (E-Defense) in Japan. Successful collaborations took place though 2015.

In July 2017, a new phase of collaborative earthquake engineering research between the U.S. and Japan got off the ground. Representatives from NHERI and NIED gathered for a planning meeting to discuss details of a new collaboration and implementation process for the next five years. A formal agreement was reached for a new round of facility sharing between NHERI and NIED on earthquake engineering research — using E-Defense and NHERI facilities.

The collaboration is under the umbrella of the five-year MEXT- and NIED-funded Tokyo Metropolitan Resilience Project, Sub-Project C: Collection and Synthesis of Data Regarding Structural/Non-structural Combined Performance and Damage Evaluation, under the direction of Prof. Akira Nishitani from Waseda University and Dr. Koichi Kajiwara from E-Defense. The report from the meeting as well as all presentations can be found at: https://www.designsafe-ci.org/facilities/nco/partnerships/nied/

Travel Support

Limited funds have been requested from NSF to support travel to the meeting. Individuals having ongoing projects funded by NSF under NEES or NHERI/E-Defense collaborations are expected to attend these meetings as part of their projects and are not eligible for travel support.

Selection of individuals to receive travel support will be based on:

1. Achieving adequate technical expertise in each of the four major themes identified under this collaboration:
   1. Theme 1: Wood
   2. Theme 2: Reinforced Concrete
   3. Theme 3: Steel, Monitoring + Protective Systems
   4. Theme 4: Nonstructural Elements
2. Attracting new researchers and students to participate in US-Japan collaborative research.
3. Insuring that NHERI/E-Defense research collaboration efforts benefit from a diverse and geographically distributed cross-section of the earthquake engineering community, including women, disabled individuals and under-represented minorities.

The deadline to request travel support is Noon (ET) on October 6, 2017.

The 2017 collaborative meeting of NHERI-NIED/E-Defense will take place in the Akasaka district of Tokyo, Japan. (Image: Wikipedia)

Registration

U.S.-based individuals must complete the form below to register interest in attending the meeting by the deadline of October 6, 2017.

Participants will need to purchase airfare and make hotel reservations. You will be informed within a few hours if you have been selected or not for travel support. At that time you will be asked to confirm participation and to make travel arrangements. We look forward to your participation.

Hotel Accommodations

The Akasaka Subway Station is the closest to the Kobori Research Complex Inc venue located at:

Akasaka KI Building
Kobori Research Complex
KI Building
6-5-30, Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan

Hotels within walking distance from the Akasaka Station and lodging costs as of September 20 are below.

Marroad Inn Akasaka

• Standard Room: 5,472 JPY per 1 night
• Standard Room and Breakfast: 6,061 JPY per 1 night
• Non-smoking Standard Room (No Meal): 7,017 JPY per 1 night

Super Hotel Lohas Akasaka

• Double bed Single Room: 9,600 JPY per 1 night
• Double bed Single Room and Breakfast: 10,700 JPY per 1 night

Centurion Hotel Residential Akasaka Station

• Superior Single Room - Smoking and Breakfast: 11,000 JPY per 1 night
• Superior Single Room - Non-Smoking and Breakfast: 11,000 JPY per 1 night

HOTEL MYSTAYS PREMIERE Akasaka

• Superior-Double Smoking: 10,185 JPY per 1 night
• Superior-Double Smoking and Breakfast: 11,574 JPY per 1 night
• Superior-Double Non-Smoking: 10,185 JPY per 1 night
• Superior-Double Non-Smoking and Breakfast: 11,574 JPY per 1 night

Centurion Hotel Grand Akasaka

• Standard Double Room - Smoking and Breakfast: 14,500 JPY per 1 night
• Standard Double Room - Non-Smoking and Breakfast: 15,500 JPY per 1 night

KEIO PRESSO INN AKASAKA

• Single Room - Smoking and Breakfast: 17,500 JPY per 1 night
• Single Room - Non-smoking and Breakfast: 17,500 JPY per 1 night

Hotel Grand Fresa Akasaka

• Double Room - Smoking and Breakfast: 10,071 JPY per 1 night
• Single Room - Non-smoking and Breakfast: 9,870 JPY per 1 night